Yongsan Korean restaurant for herbal pork soup: Baekok Yongsan

On one September day when I was so busy it felt like one body simply wasn’t enough, I visited Baekok Yongsan (백옥 용산), a favorite near Sinyongsan Station, for lunch because I wanted to gift myself a hearty bowl of gukbap (rice soup). It was a proper restorative meal with the herbal gomtang, simmered for ages into a rich, deep broth with medicinal ingredients such as neungi mushrooms and astragalus root, plus a cabbage dumpling set 🫶

Baekok Yongsan

Baekok Yongsan near Sinyongsan Station: location and parking

Baekok, near Yongsan Station, is right across from the back street behind HYBE.

It is easy to reach by public transport, but drivers can also visit comfortably: after 5 PM on weekdays or on weekends, the free parking lot at Yongsan Tax Office is available.

Comfortable first- and second-floor seating for solo diners

On Baekok’s first floor, small tables for around one or two people were lined up in a row. I was guided upstairs via these stairs right off the entry passage.

The second floor had floor-to-ceiling windows, giving it such a bright, sun-filled feel. Even though it was a little past lunch, quite a few tables were occupied, and there were several people dining alone too, haha. It seems like an easy, comfortable place to visit when you are looking for a solo meal near Sinyongsan Station.

My most comfortable seat is always the little corner, of course. I settled right into a cozy spot in the back corner upstairs!

What comes with the herbal pork soup set

Baekok’s main dishes are pork gomtang, spicy gomtang, and herbal gomtang. Other meal options include cabbage dumplings, spicy pork tail, chilled sliced pork, mung bean pancake, and the Donbok platter.

• Herbal pork soup set: herbal pork soup + 2 cabbage dumplings + drink, ₩21,000

Herbal gomtang

I urgently needed some restoration that day, so I ordered the herbal gomtang set, which generously lets you enjoy cabbage dumplings with your soup too!

Herbal pork soup with deeply rich broth

A bowl of pork gukbap arrived in an intensely rich broth. Tender pork was neatly topped with sliced scallions. It had the deepest broth color of any pork gukbap I have ever had, so I gave it a little stir with my spoon—and even the rice grains looked as though they had absorbed the medicinal ingredients. Such a reassuringly restorative-looking bowl!

Taste the broth first, then if you would like more seasoning, add salt and pepper from beside the table to suit your taste.

Let’s take another close look at this substantial herbal gomtang ,,

The basic sides were kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and pickled mushrooms and onions. Adding some with each spoonful of soup gives it a savory salty note without any extra seasoning—that is the secret to enjoying it! I also took out the soft, jiggly pork and nom nom (*´༥`*). The meat in the soup itself was mild and tender, so it was lovely to enjoy its natural flavor too!

Two crisp cabbage dumplings

2 cabbage dumplings

Another reason I love Baekok: these cabbage dumplings!!!!

Whoever invented this revolutionary food deserves credit: crisp cabbage leaves replace dumpling wrappers and are packed with kimchi dumpling filling, so you get spicy + tangy + crunchy + nutty flavors all at once in a healthy dish! Honestly, I wanted to order five, but I knew I would be greedy and not finish them, so I ordered two—and yep, two were plenty filling ^_^

They are delicious dipped in the soy sauce served alongside, and also delicious simply taken in one big bite because the kimchi filling is already well seasoned. Have them with the herbal gomtang and the fullness doubles, making the restorative meal even more satisfying.

Have a look at the bitten cross-section too 👀 Baekok’s set let me enjoy hearty herbal gomtang and crisp cabbage dumplings together! It is somewhere I would recommend near Sinyongsan Station when you need a restorative meal or are craving a satisfying one.